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Gear History
Gear History
Early examples of gears date from the 4th century BC in China [3] (Zhan Guo times – Late East Zhou
dynasty), which have been preserved at the Luoyang Museum of Henan Province, China. The
earliest preserved gears in Europe were found in the Antikythera mechanism, an example of a very
early and intricate geared device, designed to calculate astronomical positions. Its time of
construction is now estimated between 150 and 100 BC. [4] Gears appear in works connected to Hero
of Alexandria, in Roman Egypt circa AD 50,[5] but can be traced back to the mechanics of
the Alexandrian school in 3rd-century BC Ptolemaic Egypt, and were greatly developed by the
Greek polymath Archimedes (287–212 BC).[6]
Etymology[edit]
The word gear is probably from Old Norse gørvi (plural gørvar) 'apparel, gear,' related
to gøra, gørva 'to make, construct, build; set in order, prepare,' a common verb in Old Norse, "used
in a wide range of situations from writing a book to dressing meat". In this context, the meaning of
'toothed wheel in machinery' first attested 1520s; specific mechanical sense of 'parts by which a
motor communicates motion' is from 1814; specifically of a vehicle (bicycle, automobile, etc.) by
1888.[11]
A cast gearwheel (above) meshing with a cogged mortise wheel (below). The wooden cogs are held in place by
nails.